YouTube Launches Ask YouTube for U.S. Premium Users, Adds Gemini Omni to Shorts

12 articles · Updated · TechCrunch · May 19

U.S. YouTube Premium subscribers on desktop can now test Ask YouTube, an AI search tool that answers complex queries with compiled Shorts and long-form videos and supports follow-up questions.
Google tied the rollout to its broader AI overhaul of search, positioning YouTube’s search bar as a conversational discovery tool rather than a keyword box.
Gemini Omni is also being added to Shorts Remix and the YouTube Create app, where YouTube says the video model can better interpret user intent and handle more complex video and audio edits.
Creators 18 and older are gaining wider access to YouTube’s likeness-detection tool, which lets them request removal of AI videos that misrepresent them through deepfakes.
The push extends Google’s AI expansion at YouTube even as rivals such as Meta and OpenAI have faced uneven reception for AI-generated short-form video tools.

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